2000 British Grand Prix
23 April |officialname = LIII Foster's British Grand Prix |circuit = Silverstone Circuit |location = Northamptonshire, England |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.140 |laps = 60 |distance = 308.400 |pole = Rubens Barrichello |polenation = BRA |poleteam = |poletime = 1:25.703 |fastestlap = 1:26.217 |fastestlapdriver = Mika Häkkinen |fastestlapnation = FIN |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 56 |winner = David Coulthard |winnernation = GBR |winnerteam = |second = Mika Häkkinen |secondnation = FIN |secondteam = |third = Michael Schumacher |thirdnation = GER |thirdteam = }} The 2000 British Grand Prix, otherwise officially advertised as the LIII Foster's British Grand Prix, was the fourth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 23 April 2000.'British GP, 2000', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr650.html, (Accessed 02/09/2019) The race would see David Coulthard battle his way to victory on home soil, as the English spring weather played havoc on and off the circuit. Quite why the British Grand Prix of 2000 was held in April was never made clear, with the FIA refusing to give an official answer. The most convincing explanation came through the various late changes to the calendar ahead of the season, with the addition of the US Grand Prix and the reintroduction of the Belgian Grand Prix, causing a lot of mid-year congestion. Into the Silverstone weekend itself and Rubens Barrichello would be the star in qualifying, securing a maiden pole position for . The Brazilian just edged out Heinz-Harald Frentzen by 0.003s, while the two of Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen shared the second row. The start of the race saw Barrichello and Frentzen make even starts, while the two McLaren's worked together to deny Championship leader Michael Schumacher. The German racer hence slipped back from fifth to eighth, with Jenson Button, Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher streaking past. Barrichello would do his best to break free during the early stages, with the entire top eight moving clear of Jarno Trulli in ninth. Yet, the Brazilian would be unable to escape more than a second from the nose of Frentzen's , with the German racer himself having to watch out for third placed Coulthard. Indeed, the entire top eight ran nose-to-tail through until lap 24, when Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher peeled off to make their pitstops. Coulthard, now released from the Jordan used his brief spell of clear air to draft onto the back of Barrichello, before dancing his McLaren around the outside of #4 Ferrari at Stowe to claim the lead. With that Coulthard was away, throwing everything at the Silverstone circuit in a bid to break away from the Barrichello train. Behind, Häkkinen came in to make his stop on lap 31, rejoining in eighth, while Coulthard stopped two laps later and rejoined ahead of the Finn. Barrichello stayed out for a further two laps, although a spin caused by a faltering gearbox signalled the end of his race. Schumacher, meanwhile, would be the last of the leaders to stop having moved into the lead, and duly set a series of quick laps to close onto the back of Häkkinen after his stop. Frentzen moved back into the lead, although his second stop on lap 42 ensured that Coulthard moved back ahead. Button and Ralf Schumacher subsequently stopped on the following laps to leave Häkkinen in second ahead of Michael Schumacher, while Frentzen shuffled down to fourth. With that the race was over, with Coulthard surviving a late gearbox issue to claim victory ahead of Häkkinen, the first McLaren one-two of the season. Schumacher, meanwhile, would claim a lonely third ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Button and Trulli, Frenzen having dropped out late on with a gearbox issue. Background Michael Schumacher left San Marino with an ever enhanced lead in the Championship, holding a maximum thirty points. That resulted in a 21 point advantage over second placed teammate Rubens Barrichello, with the Brazilian himself a point ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella. Defending World Champion Mika Häkkinen was next, up into fourth with his first points finish of the season, with Ralf Schumacher completing the top five. In the Constructors Championship had a similarly daunting grip on the title hunt, leaving Imola on 39 points. A 29 point gulf followed before appeared in second, having only managed to claim ten points across the opening three rounds, with in third. Behind, and were level on seven, with and also on the board. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Qualifying Report Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Villeneuve and Frentzen were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * 250th Grand Prix to feature a start for an chassis.'4. Britain 2000', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2000/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 02/09/2019) * made their 150th appearance at a Grand Prix as a constructor. * Eddie Irvine made his 100th Grand Prix start. * Jarno Trulli entered his 50th race.'2000 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2000&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 02/09/2019) * Pedro de la Rosa and Marc Gené entered their twentieth race. * Rubens Barrichello secured the 25th pole position for a car using #4 as its race number. * Seventh career victory for David Coulthard. * 124th win for as a constructor. ** secured their 29th win as an engine supplier. Standings Michael Schumacher had finally been defeated in a Grand Prix in , although the German ace had still managed to finish on the podium. Schumacher hence left Britain with 34 points to his name, and therefore still held onto a twenty point lead at the head of the Championship hunt. David Coulthard was now his closest challenger ahead of Mika Häkkinen, while Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher completed the top five. In the Constructors Championship had finally seen their lead reduced after three straight victories, although the Scuderia had enhanced their tally to 43 points. were the team to do the damage, leaping onto 26 points after their one-two, although they were still seventeen points off the Scuderia. Behind, had moved into third ahead of , with completing the top five. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2000 Grands Prix Category:British Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom